Ilyushin IL-86 – Atlant Soyuz' beauty and beast

As with many summer leading up, rumor had it that this one was to be the last with IL-86 operations. Unfortunately this time it turned out to be true. And with Atlant Soyuz' shut down, the end for a legend had come.

The IL-86 stands like no other aircraft for it's time. On the one hand it was a revolutionary design, on the other hand vastly outdated engines were slapped onto her. Russia's first widebody aircraft not only had a really good safety record, but was very much loved by crews and passengers alike. It marked a new era, including a comfortable cabin, unique on board air stairs and lots of space for many passengers. In fact capacity was the only aspect that saved the “Camber” for so long. And as long as airlines could make money of fully sold IL-86 to tour operators, things were fine. From mainline service the IL-86 were already retired, including long- time- operators Pulkovo, Tatarstan, Ural Airlines, Xinjiang Airlines, Don Avia and last but not least Aeroflot. But with more and more Boeings and Airbus' arriving in Russia, the chances for the IL-86 were diminishing.

Antalya was the classic IL-86 route for decades, with nearly all carriers operating their airliners from various Russian cities to Turkey. So flying this route would mean a full aircraft and hot take off conditions in Antalya, which is fun for a chronically underpowered IL-86.

The take off run from Antalya was rather sporty, and the fully fueled and loaded IL-86 accelerated and climbed faster than the legend has it for this airliner. The degree of service was great, and even for a charter flight the food was good and plenty. The extremely roomy cabin of the IL-86 already seemed a bit aged, but was actually really comfortable.

After a wonderful flight to Vnukovo, the “Aerobus” approached the airport with lots of tight maneuvers. This showed that the airliner had a lot of reserves in it, and after a smooth touch down the NK-86 reversers slowed the mighty airliner down. The IL-86 will be missed, since it was big and loud and dirty, and just so much cooler than all those silent new generation twin airliners!

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